The Mauritanian

A lot of great talent make this a particularly riveting film. No punches are spared when it comes to how incompetent and inhumane Rumsfeld's policies were at Guantanamo. I criticized The Report for being too visceral in trying to make its point. This film had some very disturbing scenes as well but they were much more effective. You actually cared for the characters in the film. The Report and the Mauritanian make the same points, but where the Report was dry with little character development, The Mauritanian tells a fascinating personal tale.

The movie gets its title from the GITMO inmate that is featured in this movie, based on a real person and his experiences. He is a Mauritanian.

The whole movie centers on one man's fate, he was arrested and accused in 2002 of being a key figure in the 9/11 attacks, but was detained for years without any charges. He was tortured to get him to confess.

Two supporting stories are told in parallel, frequently switching from one to the other. One is the military attorney charged with building a case to find him guilty and executed. The other is a New Mexico law firm defending him, not so much focusing on whether he was guilty or not, more on whether the USA constitution and laws were being followed.

Very interesting and very well made, the actors in the featured roles are all excellent, especially Jodie Foster and Benedict Cumberbatch.

I watched it at home on BluRay from my public library. My wife skipped.

This is a very very powerful film, that brings a very dark page of history to light. My heart is so heavy from the horror I saw. When the credits rolled, I didn't want to stop the film. I'm amazed by how he keeps his positivity, or even the will to live through years of darkness.

I think The Mauritanian gives a very insightful look at the extent governments will go to coverup how the treat prisoners. Here in the United States and other countries around the world. Doing all that can be done to get false witness against anyone. The end does not justify the means, which is something brought to light in this movie. This is a true story from the story told in the book Guantánamo Diary, written by Mohamedou Ould Slahi. It tells of his experiences in Guantanamo Bay. Maybe one day we will learn to treat each others as humans and respect deserved until the facts are proven.

I had modest expectations going into "The Mauritanian," a screen adaptation of the book "Guantanamo Diary," which blew the whistle on the U. S. treatment of prisoners of Guantanamo Bay. Usually, if a movie as Oscar-baity as this one fails to receive a single nomination, it's because it's not very good. So call me pleasantly surprised when I discovered the film to be the exact opposite.

To some, "The Mauritanian" will likely be too heavy handed. It's one of those liberal Hollywood diatribes (and I say this as a self-identified liberal progressive) that can be too much even for those who've already bought what the movie is selling. I might have been turned off if I'd been in a different mood when I watched it. But sometimes, the commitment of the people making the movie can overcome its excess earnestness, and that was the case for me here. Among the usual Liberal Activists = Good, U. S. Government and Military = Bad tropes, the film does try for some nuance in its characters. Jodie Foster gives a sensational performance as the attorney dedicated to freeing the film's protagonist, played in an equally wonderful performance by Tahar Rahim, and we're allowed to see that she's unlikable and conflicted. Likewise, Benedict Cumberbatch, as the prosecuting attorney, is introduced as what we're sure is going to be a macho Southern military goon stereotype, complete with unacceptable accent, but the movie subverts our expectations and shows that he's capable of letting personal and patriotic feelings be outweighed by humanitarian ones. Granted, the film does none of this elegantly or delicately, but I just appreciated a story that at least attempted to populate a liberal/conservative issue movie with characters that are more than easy ciphers. The film could probably be criticized as yet another white savior story, and those criticisms would be justified. But it's a damn good one.

Shailene Woodley rounds out the cast as Foster's assistant, and she's excellent as well. The director is Kevin Macdonald ("The Last King of Scotland"), who has a knack for making blisteringly entertaining movies out of gruesome true event subject matter.

Grade: A.